


it's okay

by amonkeysue



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, endgame spoilers, read it as platonic or shippy as you want, very much do not read without having seen endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 05:31:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18614137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amonkeysue/pseuds/amonkeysue
Summary: A 'what if?' fix-it idea for THAT scene in Endgame. Spoilers ahead!





	it's okay

**Author's Note:**

> Since while I see the why of the decision, I need a version of events where Nat makes it.

Neither of them were really surprised that they were fighting over who got to sacrifice themselves for the Stone. After all that had happened, how well they knew each other and how much they cared, it was inevitable.

Hanging there off the cliff, it was an entire unspoken conversation in their eyes beyond what they actually said.

It should be me.

_It should be me._

Resisting the instinct to hold on and keep herself from slipping to her death below took some active concentration, especially with Clint trying everything he was in a position to in order to keep her from falling.

Her partner until the end.

“It’s okay,” Natasha reassured, the gentle resignation in her expression stinging under the circumstances.

And then she dropped, and Clint’s heart followed her, falling further than he thought it could.

He really was losing everything, and he couldn’t look away.

At least the tears kept him from seeing her hit the ground. The smallest mercy of the situation.

Within a blink he felt his body shift, any details of the sensation lost to his mind in his grief. With the tears still in his eyes, he opened his eyes to a realm of orange, his mind vaguely processing the water-like substance he sat in.

The Soul Stone was heavy in his hand, and he could barely look at it before the grief had him curling up with a pained sob.

It should have been him.

He didn’t have any sense of time beyond a few moments when he heard a surprised gasp and immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

Natasha could only blink as she pushed herself up on both elbows, struggling to orient herself.

Clint didn’t help as he immediately lunged over to pull her into a hug, burying his head into her shoulder with a relieved sob. “Nat!”

She hugged him back, fully leaning into him. “Clint…” Her voice caught before she could manage anything else.

The hug silently lasted for several moments until Clint gently helped to pull her into a sitting position, his expression a mixture of utter shock and relief. “How…?”

“Something about self-sacrifice instead of sacrificing someone else.” She gave a small shrug with one shoulder. “Everything happened very quickly.” She let a beat pass before supportively smiling at Clint. “But we got our best case ending here.”

Clint moved into another hug, deeply breathing in. “We’re never doing this again.”

They helped each other stand before each properly looking around.

“I hope this is still our universe,” Natasha said, managing to add a touch of lightness. She looked Clint directly in the eyes. “You ready?”

Near death conversations were always best handled when they had accomplished the mission.

He reached for her hand, the Stone still a heavy reminder in his other. “Together.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know there's the whole "soul for a soul" thing with the Stone but A- I need absolutely anything for 'Natasha is alive' and B- maybe Steve bringing back the Stone could count as returning one soul to get Natasha's back...


End file.
